My Own Set of Rules (Rural Rhythm RHY-CD 1051) came out in July 2009 and is Lou Reid & Carolina’s first album for Rural Rhythm, the label the band had signed with that May. Reid produced it, and it was recorded in early 2009 and mastered at Eastwood Studios in Cana, Virginia. At the time Reid was also the Seldom Scene’s guitarist and vocalist, and he took Carolina out on limited dates. On this record he plays mandolin, with Shannon Slaughter on guitar, Christy Reid on bass, Trevor Watson on banjo, and Ron Stewart as a guest on fiddle.
It was Reid’s eighth album in seventeen years, and he said it held more of his own musical taste than anything he had recorded to that point, drawing on contemporary, traditional and gospel songs. The thirteen tracks include “Amanda Lynn,” which was sent to radio ahead of the release, and “A Tall Cornstalk,” which closes the album. The set includes songs of love and loss, songs about parents, several gospel numbers, one of them sung a cappella, and a single instrumental, “Beat the Train.” Reid also returns to “In Despair,” a song he had sung with the Seldom Scene. Christy Reid sings lead on one song and Slaughter on another.
Tracklist
- 1 Amanda Lynn 3:31
- 2 Picture Me There 3:26
- 3 She’s More to be Pitied alt version 2:30
- 4 It's So Hard To Stumble (When Your Down On Your Knees) 2:26
- 5 In Despair alt version 3:00
- 6 Beat The Tain - Instrumental 2:20
- 7 Daddy Tried 3:24
- 8 John In The Jordan 2:25
- 9 Left Handed Dreamer 2:30
- 10 Mama 3:59
- 11 Over In The Promised Land 2:37
- 12 Blue Ridge Girl 3:05
- 13 A Tall Cornstalk 5:28
